Re: Is it important anymore how the tattoo is gonna look after few years?

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Re: Is it important anymore how the tattoo is gonna look after few years?

Tattooing is and always will be art and craft, it can be performed by either artist's or craftsmen/women but best results come from the learned and schooled of both.

Conversations have always continued and will continue of a traditional tattoo vs realism until the larger picture is understood that "Realism" is nothing new and has never been something new, it's purely overthought tattooing forced into the art form of tattoo.
This is to say that anyone way back when could execute a realistic cardinal bird, anyone with ability seen in example back to Hildabrant to other examples of flash and pictorial overseas such as Germany, etc. BUT tattooing was meant to be as much as an "everlasting mark"as possible and with this being said, the example for an everlasting cardinal would be the "image" of a cardinal much like the one used by the St Luis Cardinal baseball team. Compared side by side at the same measurements the "stronger" will hold. The "point" being of "tattooing/executing as permanent image as possible" can best be accomplished by executing the "stronger" image so that the all valuable customer, not to be confused with ritualistic cultural tattooing, will not be back in the tattoo shop door 15 years later claiming that the tattoo was not as permanent as they were led to believe.

So, for perspective, 2 Cardinal bird's tattooed the exact same size on lily white caucasian canvas, the one tattooed of varying shades of red and fine detail and graduated shades to hold the image and a white glint in the eye, the other the solid red and solid yellow Cardinal held by a bold outline. The human eye can see in both tattoos that it is a Cardinal, one more artistically executed but the other will not only be "observed" as a Cardinal but also a "tattoo of a Cardinal".
This is not to say that there is no middle ground as their is a middle ground found in flash examples of people like JD Crowe's not so flat or single dimensional art and example in flesh like Kari Barba has done of late. If you can find Kari's early work in photo form you can see her transition away from "realism to tattooing realism" on that middle ground which she does very well. It's about the difference of having a painting of a flower and a photograph of a flower, of course the photograph will be an exact duplicate of the flower to hang on the wall while the painting will be"the painting of a flower" with much more to behold or capture of the image of a flower and with the best digital camera's we are still buying paintings, ha!

When I began there was a great and accepted distinction between tattooist and tattoo artist with no disrespect of either, both if accomplished were held with the same respect but it is never respectful to see someone practicing anything that strays from canvas cloth to human canvas, flesh is the essence of what tattooing is as there has never been an old school as much as there has been logical and practical tattooing with advents of new school attempts of fusion that rarely apply.

Artistic craftsmen/women make great "tattoo artist's", craftsmen/women make great "tattooist's". Artistic or not the entering tattooer still has to struggle to become a "Great Tattooer" either way.
It's a repetitive process that tattooers have to endure during times of tattooing's renaissance, it is that we have to deal with and get tangled with visionary attempts at evolution to better and higher degree's instead of "Everybody come and get a tattoo! ......i need a new car". ha!

For certain we see evolution that is positive and different that will be around for a long long time and this is a good thing, means people are contributing and skills are evolving, once we go forward with things that work like the computer your using right now, we won't see many going back to getting information from a hard wired phone and newspaper no matter how much we may embrace the era.

Re: Is it important anymore how the tattoo is gonna look after few years?

Thats happening if you start getting tattooed by yourself,so personal and individual.But if a tattooer is doing the job on you that means that hes taking care how the tattoo will look,he/she has the responsibility.It doesnt mean when you walk the door of a tattoo shop with a design or an idea that this should be done exactly as you want it,at least to a lot of shops that i know.

Originally Posted by Gregor

Get what you want tattooed by whoever you want in whatever style you want. Who cares if it lasts or not . Its a personal and individual thing.